Hosokawa Horomatsu Hotaru
"I assure you: I am what's best for the Empire." Title: Sei-i Taishogun, Daimyo of the Hosokawa family, 4 time Dragon Blade Champion. Nicknames: "Mightnight Firefly", "The Player", "Triple Ho" Known Associate: Hayabusa Satochi, Itachizame Jubei Biography The current Shogun is the first man not of the Miyamoto line to gain the title in close to 600 years. Hosokawa Horomatsu Hotaru began his life as a simple ji-samurai in service to a minor Hayabusa retainer, but he quickly rose in the ranks of his unit due to his courage and prowess in battle. At the age of 21, he participated in his first Dragon Blade tournament, where he placed comfortably in 4th position after defeating many opponents with his unorthodox duelling style, and he caught the Imperial Legion commanders. He was then assigned to a minor position in the Legion in exchange for a stipend to his lord. Again, his skills and his now awakening desire for power drove him to higher ranks quickly. After his first victory at the Dragon Blade, at agen 24, he was assigned to the First Legion, where his power grew even more with each year, especially after being the first non-Son of Heaven to win 3 Dragon Blades. A careful and intelligent man, he seduced and courted the previous Shogun's daughter and planned for the heir of the Shogun to be disgraced in a punitive campaign against some of his new friends in the Tigershark family and Peregrine family. The whole situation became more and more advantageous as the daughter of the Shogun was quite enamored with Hosokawa and his strength, especially as he let her act out her fantasies of being an onnabugeisha rather than a good housewife, against the wish of the Shogun. After the retirement of the Shogun, faced with the shame of his son and his ill-health, the Mightnight Firefly built his own supporters to his claim to the title of Shogun to the Mikado, finding some evidence of higher noble birth than he knew at first, building suport from the Peregrine, Tigershark and other influencial Sons of Heaven families and ousting most other contenders. A few Imperial commanders attempted to topple him, but The Player's military acumen and duelling skills rapidly took care of those who stood in his way. As the new Shogun, Triple Ho rapidly expanded the Shogun's power over even what his predecessor had, getting his own allies in the bureaucracy, magistracy and even in the various religious institutions around the Empire. While he is wary of the power of the great families, especially of the Tiger, Wolf and Viper, he has been working on breaking their power base by implementing various legal actions and equipping the Imperial Legions with more modern weapons and equipment in response to the military build up of the Wolf, Bear, Raven and Tiger at this point in time. Stat block Backgrounds: Wolf-Style Infantry 4 / Tiger-Style Infantry 3 Skills: Samurai Weapons 8 (Katana Emphasis 2), Heavy Weapons 6 (Nodatchi Emphasis), Dueling 6, Martial Arts: Pankration 4 (Grappling Emphasis), Battle 7 (Mass warfare), Defense 7, Lore: Anatomy 3, Lore: War 5, Lore: Law 3, Sincerity 3, Athletics 3 (Endurance), Horsemanship 3, Intimidation 6, Etiquette 6 (Imperial Court), Courtier (Imperial Court) 3, Commerce 2, Games: Polo 4, Games: Mahjong 4, Perform: Oratory 3, Temptation 3 Advantages: Allies (Major, Devoted) -- Hayabusa Satochi / Itachizame Jinbei, Allies (others), Blackmail (quite a few), Clear Thinker, Darling of the Court (Imperial Court), Great Destiny, Large, Leadership, Strength of the Earth Disadvantages: Blackmailed (multiple), Brash, Compulsion (Domination), Driven (Domination), Failure of Compassion, Jealousy Category:Personalities Category:L5R Rule conversion Category:Capital Category:Shogun Category:21st Century